by Mosope Ominiyi

For a side to challenge for the Premier League title, they need quite a few components.

Firstly, they need to establish consistency. The most important concept in regards to success in football because without it, there is no balance or structure – both of which lead to various issues. Secondly, the team in question needs good players. Not average, half-decent players, no. World-class players, who can prove their worth on the pitch with excellent performances week-in, week-out. Players you’d happily spend your hard-earned money on to go and watch personally. Take Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez as two prime examples, but across the pitch as opposed to attack-minded only.

Also, although it’s easier said than done, they need to stay injury-free. This is crucial because otherwise, it can dramatically hinder the side’s chances of winning silverware, especially if they are in plenty of competitions and need to rotate the squad around to avoid fatigue. And last, but not least, they need a player (or a few, admittedly) that can score 15-20+ goals in a league campaign.

If you believe all the media reports, news articles and rumours that have been speculating players’ futures every transfer window, Higuaín would already be an Arsenal player. In-fact, the French born Argentine forward would have joined the club two or three years ago, in hindsight. Two summers ago, the Gunners were reportedly ‘agreeing a fee‘ with Real Madrid for his services… but instead, Napoli ‘hijacked‘ the move and he went to Italy instead.

Now, (not that Aurelio de Laurentiis would have you believe), Higuaín to Arsenal is back on the agenda. Napoli are arguably one of the best sides in Serie A, but they simply do not have the financial firepower to rival the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Juventus – to name a few, that are consistently considered as the world’s elite teams.

Because of this, if a better side comes up with a offer for one of their players, they would be forced to ponder the deal. This has happened on a number of different occasions, including Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani, which is a never-ending cycle of selling their talent to other clubs, before buying new alternatives for cheaper prices to keep the money flowing.

Obviously, once the Partenopei establish themselves as a side with good UEFA Champions League pedigree, they’ll be able to keep hold of their prized assets. Until then though, placing release clauses in players’ contracts is a good way to go about your transfer businesss.

Worth the hype?

They’ve done this with the Argentinian forward, who in their valuation, is worth €94.7million euros. That’s an eyewatering £66million pounds – and really, it’s to scare away possible suitors. Liverpool have been linked, as have Chelsea and Arsenal in recent seasons.

The former Real Madrid man was in need of a change of scenery, and in Italy, he’s got just that. However, the prospect of playing in arguably the most competitive league in the world is certainly enticing – something that Napoli cannot offer him at present. Napoli finished in fifth place in the 2014/15 campaign, meaning they’ll play in the UEFA Europa League again; the sister competition to the UEFA Champions League, where Europe’s elite play.

No bids have been made for the striker, thankfully. He netted 29 goals and created eleven assists in all competition last term, which is not bad by any stretch. But considering he’s playing in plenty of domestic and international tournaments – having played double the amount he’s scored, it gives him a goal every two games.

He has a frustrating tendency to miss golden goal-scoring opportunities, which was first on-show during his time at the Bernabeú with Madrid. He has good hold up play but is often lazy going forward and does not have enough speed to worry defenders. An aerial threat, he is. A poacher, too. However, the majority of his goals have stemmed in victories against weaker sides, or thrashings.

I’d rather have Giroud, to be fair. Higuaín’s vastly over-rated because his stats do not tell the whole story, and once you watch him, you’ll understand where I’m coming from too. And for £65million pounds, you could get Robert Lewandowski or Karim Benzema, and still have enough money to strengthen in another position.

Even better in the long-term, you could avoid buying both of those two attackers and instead promote from within. Alex Iwobi, Chris Willock and not least, Chuba Akpom are all knocking on the door to the first-team in the coming year or two, for sure. That’s ignoring the likes of Yaya Sanogo and a few other youngsters, whose futures are not yet concrete.